Brexit didn’t just impact UK citizens living in Europe, Europeans also had to apply to stay in the UK. Data to 31st March 2021 shows more than 320,000 Spaniards applied through the EU Settlement Scheme.
The British Embassy in Madrid tweeted the latest figures regarding the EU Settlement scheme on 28th May. Since the scheme was announced, the UK has received just under 5 million applications.
Spanish citizen applications
The UK government site provided a breakdown of the applications by nationality. Spanish citizens are the fifth most represented nationalities.
In total, the UK received 4,910,690 applications from EU nationals, 50,060 from other EEA and Swiss nationals and 340,650 from non-EEA nationals. The nationalities with the highest number of applications received were:
Polish (975,180)
Romanian (918,270)
Italian (500,550)
Portuguese (376,440)
Spanish (320,850)
The top five nationalities combined represent around 58% of applications received.
The majority of Spanish citizens have applied to stay in England or Wales. In fact, 90% of Spanish applications came from those living in England.
Top five nationalities by applications received and UK country
Source: Table EUSS_01, EU Settlement Scheme quarterly statistics tables
94% of Spanish applications processed
Of the 320,850 applications received, 304,310 or 94% have been processed and concluded.
The UK government refused only 3% of the Spanish applications so far. This is in line with the majority of EU countries.
EU and other EEA and Swiss nationals accounted for four out of five (83%) of the 55,950 EU Settlement Scheme refusals, with non-EEA nationals accounting for just under a fifth of refusals (17%).
The closing date for Spanish applications is 30th June 2021.
British citizens resident in Spain should apply for their TIE. However, it’s still possible to move to Spain if you wish.
